Despite the questionable future of spring training and its $31 million economic impact, a resolute Pima County Sports and Tourism Authority said it has no intention of letting baseball leave and it’s even trying to steal a team or two from Florida.

That was the message Wednesday during a community forum luncheon at a Tucson hotel, where authority members laid out plans to seek funding to improve Hi Corbett Field, Tucson Electric Park and possibly add another facility.

“It’s not about baseball. … It’s about the Tucson economy,” said Dan Schneider, the sports authority’s executive director. “We need to turn the momentum around.”

The authority was created earlier this year to find a long-term revenue source to retain teams and expand spring training in Tucson.

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Tucson Losing Spring Training Teams? - Looks like the lack of funding and support from the city to the baseball presence has come full circle, because now the White Sox want to leave by the year’s end. Once they leave, it’s pretty clear that the Diamondbacks and Rockies will follow suit. It’s going to take money to keep them here by renovating the stadiums, and if Tucson doesn’t cater to this group and they leave, Tucson is going to lose money. It’s a Catch-22 right now for sure. My question is this: Isn’t spring training and everything about it something that keeps Tucson relevent? Why would the City of Tucson attend to this matter in such an incompetent manner? Who knows but hopefully they wisen up because spring training won’t wait like Rio Nuevo!

A Hearing on Tucson Unified School Districts Budget - With the price of utilities rising to new heights, the budget of TUSD can be changed soon enough. Not only is the tight budget having a principal oversee two schools in one case, but Qwest Communications is sueing the school district. Who sues a public school? I wonder what exactly happened for that to be, but it’s obvious that Qwest is a thorn in Tucson’s side.

Wildflowers, beautiful weather, downtown festivals and…ah, yes….baseball. It’s what I love about this time of year and part of the reason why residents, businesses and tourists enjoy such a great quality of life here in Tucson.

This past month, Tucson had a double-play of spring training adventures – from the more modern experience watching the Chicago White Sox train at Tucson Electric Park (TEP), to a stepping-back-into history happening at Hi Corbett Field with the Colorado Rockies.

Baseball is a great American pastime and it’s a 60-year tradition here in Tucson.

This year, TEP is home to the Sidewinders, the Diamondback’s AAA affiliate. The season opener is this week. Why not take in opening game, enjoy the vistas and eat a Sonoran hot dog while you’re at it? You also can count on great mini air shows, as touch-and-go training usually is underway at nearby Davis Monthan Air Force Base.

You may have heard buzz about spring training’s future in Tucson and news today sounds like there is interesting progress. Today the business community is rallying behind a plan to create a Pima County Sports and Tourism Authority. The authority still needs to be approved by the Legislature, but the Pima County Board of Supervisors vote got the plan to first base this morning. The newspapers also reported an idea to build a new stadium in Marana for the Colorado Rockies.

This all could be a real boon for Tucson, economically and prestige-wise. With Florida teams (and residents) flying out of the panhandle into Arizona, it’s realistic that one or more additional major-league teams might even relocate to Tucson! And that would be a home run, attracting more tourism as well as relocating fans, young professionals and snowbirds.

So let the baseball fever continue. And get tickets for the exciting Sidewinder season opener on Thursday or go to season’s Fireworks Friday at TEP! There’s plenty of baseball action to enjoy!